part 2 six

The discovery of Truth

“Many people say that such and such a person has discovered a truth. Is truth sitting in the corner of a room someplace, waiting for someone to come along hunting and find it? Although many truths have been discovered, many remain yet unknown. Compared to the truth that has been discovered, much more remains yet to be manifested. If anyone says that he has discovered the whole truth about anything, it will be a big lie. Truth is infinite. Each person in each new age discovers new truth according to his projection; so long as man lives in this world, so long new truths will be revealed. Truth is no one’s monopoly. Only fools, fanatics, say that they have discovered the full truth. These do a lot of harm to the world.”
    Swami Vivekananda’s own vision. All the truths Swamiji spoke of he had seen, either in vision or in sleep. He said many times, “I do not know anything. I don’t think out anything. I don’t keep notes for my lectures, not do I think before hand what is to be said in the lecture. When I arrive I collect and pacify the mind for a few moments and then I see all the ideas clearly standing before me. All these living thoughts I try to bring out, mumbling something or other. I don’t understand at all what I say. When all these thoughts do not take shape before my eyes I cannot speak a word; only when I see clearly do I begin to speak. Mohendra often noticed this transformation of mood and heard Swamiji say that just as men have form and color, so do ideas.
    The discussion of “vision” went on for several days. Mohendra has given only a brief account of it here. Swamiji seems to have given many very deep ideas on this subject. The audience was awestruck and heard many truths new to them. People were dumbfounded to learn that among religious and philosophical truths there were such different views, that even among persons of revelation and inspiration there could be different levels of these, and that a book of sutras could be written that harmonized all these [referring to Patanjali’s].
    For the common man, this great truth had been declared for the first time outside of India, in the American and Western world. Buddhist monks of old had preached it after a fashion in foreign lands, but no one knew it very accurately and we have no record of it, but in this age Swamiji has done this. It is difficult to describe the splendor and brilliance of his face, eyes and voice at this time. The power which he had expressed standing fearlessly before the choicest religious audience (Chicago Parliament) was coming out again. He had not stood before them with bowed head and folded palms, but as an equal among equals. So his lecture was of such a high quality.
    This lecture subject went on for four days, i.e. eight sessions.

Argument with an Englishman

    Such was the level of Swamiji’s talks on “Vision” that his fame with the public increased and brought many new persons to hear him.
One evening at the lecture there was a (military) pensioner who had served in Bengal. He was elderly and thin. Because of having lived for a time in a hot country his skin, instead of being the usual English white, was dark. The lecture began. Swamiji was standing in his place. Goodwin had his paper on the sofa near the far corner of the room. Swamiji started slowly. Hardly had he spoken for five minutes when the India-returned Englishman said very disrespectfully, in a loud tone, “Oh, thank you!” at almost a shout. Everyone was annoyed, but still no one expressed anger openly. Many now regarded Swamiji as one of the great souls like Jesus or Paul, and had profound love and respect for him. To be frank, they called him a perfected guru. So naturally they became irritated and began to make a stir. Pursuing his speech Swamiji said that the Christian religion had now become warlike, but that in Buddhism there was still the idea of compassion. In China at the present time, because of Buddhism, 400,000,000 people get a little food. Wherever Buddhism is still strong, war and military technology is played down. But where Christianity is current many go hungry and they always keep ready for battle. Jesus himself was a most compassionate man; Christianity had become a military religion.”
    This man, sitting near the fireplace said, “Sir Monier-Williams has written in a book that Buddha was a very selfish and cruel man, as he ran off from his wife and child. He was an atheist who didn’t believe in God. His teaching could not be called a religion. Buddha merely made a set of social and ethical rules; it is not an ’atheistic religion’. And Jesus’ religion is the only one: it alone has faith in God and words of welfare for man.” The man evidently read Sir Monier-williams’ books and when living in India read nothing about Hinduism or Buddhism. Swamiji. without giving any rejoinder to his words began to relate in many ways the compassion of Lord Buddha and said that even to this day in India there are such noble sadhus.
    “No,” said the man, “I know the sadhus are thieves. They are all robbers. When the sadhus would go into any town or village I would see the police follow them. I even used to see them chase them out of the village. Thieves and loafers put on the gerrua, and they are what are called sadhus.” Sturdy was sitting in back of the sofa. He got up and came quickly to the middle of the room.
    “When I lived in India I saw many fine sadhus, men of the highest level of Swamiji here. I made particular investigations into this matter and talked a lot with them and watched them.” He said this in a rather loud voice and with some heat.
    Previously this Englishman had thought that Swami Vivekananda was a Madrasi because in Bowbazaar in Calcutta there lived many Madrasis with long names ending in “swamy.” But when he heard Swamiji and saw his mannerisms, he recognized him as a Bengali. Then he puffed out his chest and in patronizing tones said, “I thought you were a Madrasi; now I see you are a Bengali Babu. You know that during the Mutiny we saved you.”
Sturdy, who had been sitting at ease but was now standing in the middle of the room like a madman, shouted. “But you were well paid for it.” Shaking all over, he angrily seized the man by the neck and began to push him outside. Goodwin had been writing there in his chair and occasionally looking angrily at the man. Now he could stand it no longer, dropped his pen, rolled up his sleeves and prepared to come to blows. Swamiji had even them been going on smoothly with his speech, so Goodwin, out of regard for that, had been waiting for him to stop speaking.
    The audience was upset, turning one way to look at Sturdy, the other to look at Goodwin. Fox had indistinct speech and was not so prompt; he was saying something unintelligible from his seat. Swami Saradananda and Mohendra were Indians, cowed by this uproar in a foreign country and both began shivering. Then Swami Vivekananda, abandoning his natural peaceful demeanor, assumed an altogether different and threatening one. Turning to the right and facing the man by the fireplace, he poured fire for nearly thirty-five minutes without let.
He began to recite the history of the English race from Hengist and Horsa to the present day, and how their behavior had been oppressive and rude wherever they had gone. He told the ubiquitous story of the English race, full of reproach, and said the world had given scarcely any impeachment to them on the evidence of this history. That day he showed what a surprising knowledge he had of these events of history, in proper sequence, and astounded all with his facility. Then that Englishman, downfaced like this in front of everyone, took out his handkerchief and began to weep and blow his nose. He consumed three handkerchiefs in the process. Then he was all undone and sat like a block of wood. Swamiji, after thirty-five minutes again faced the audience and in an affectionate tone of voice resumed his lecture.

Reactions to the event

    “Now I go on to pratyahara and dharana.” He began as if nothing like this had happened, like a balanced immovable perfect yogi. It was a great surprise to the people that he could pick up like this, just in the mood he had abandoned. His angry mood subsided as quickly as it had arisen. That day there was no Question and Answer session. Some famous names had been included in his indictment: Cicero, Catullinus, Demosthenes, Philip of Macedonia, Hampden and Pim, Wenworth and Lord.
Such a scathing indictment Swamiji had never before spoken and Mohendra had never heard. When the lecture was finished, people said to Swamiji, “Swami, you have taught us a grand lesson in forbearance. If anyone had spoken to us in that way, we could not have stood it. You are saint, you are a really great man” and so on.
    In the parlor, Swamiji, Sturdy, Goodwin, Miss Muller and Swami Saradananda all gathered. Sturdy said, “I went completely out of my mind. I don’t know what I said or did. I only know that I gave that man a blow on the neck.” That Englishman must have been a bit changed, for after it was over he went to Sturdy and begged his pardon and went quickly away. He did not have the courage to face Swamiji. Sturdy said, “He is unspeakably rude. He used to have some petty job in the Indian Government and has come to show his bluster in this country as well.”
    Goodwin said, “I would have liked to thrash this man but Swamiji gave me no chance. I couldn’t do anything because he didn’t stop talking. Otherwise I’d have given him a good beating.” Swamiji had been sitting silent; then he said, “Everything is Narayana. This man too is Narayana. Only he is bad-Narayana.” To Goodwin, “Goodwin, “bring my hat and coat and cane; come, let’s go for a walk. Don’t think any more about him. He is Narayana, wicked Narayana.” He took a cigarette and went out with Goodwin and came back late at night.